Issue - meetings

Overview of the General Fund Budget

Meeting: 27/06/2023 - Executive (Item 66)

66 Overview of General Fund Revenue Budget 2022/23 PDF 736 KB

To consider the report of the Director Finance.

Additional documents:

Decision:

Agreed:

RECOMMENDED that Council notes and approves (where applicable):-

1) the net transfer of £12,346,956 from Earmarked Reserves as detailed in paragraph 8.11 of the report;

2) the supplementary budgets of £6,447,320 and budget transfers as detailed in paragraph 8.13 of the report;;

3) the Earmarked Reserves at 31 March 2023;

4) the Council Tax account and collection rate;

5) the outstanding sundry debt, aged debt analysis and debt write-off figures;

6) the creditors payments performance;

7) the General Fund working balance at 31 March 2023 at £6,151,289, having taken into account the overall financial position of the Council; and

8) the One Exeter programme update.

Reason for Decision: As set out in the report.

Minutes:

The Executive received the report which advised Members of the overall financial position of the General Fund Revenue Budgets for the 2022/23 financial year. The report also sought approval for the General Fund working balance, a number of supplementary budgets and the creation of new earmarked reserves.

Members noted the difficult cost pressures to the Council during the financial year, which included higher energy costs and the Staff Pay Award. Members were referred to the Section 151 comments in the report and noted that the Council had balanced the budget for 2022/23 and it was possible to transfer £629,000 to the General Fund working balance at year end.

There were several supplementary budgets requested for the following financial year which totalled £6.4 million, which most had funding already in place. However, £1.807 million would be required to be met from the General Fund working balance. Although, there would be no significant impact on the Medium Term Financial Plan, it was forecast that reserves would be reduced to the minimal level by 2024/25.

Members were advised that the minimal level for the General Fund working balance, the Council had agreed to maintain a balance of no less than £3 million as a contingency against financial risks. The largest area of risk related to income under budgeted levels, notably for car park and business rate income, which would require close monitoring.

The Deputy Chief Finance Officer, in responding to the Leader’s question, advised that the £6.4 million supplementary budgets requested predominantly represented underspends in the 2022/23 financial year, which could include unspent grant funding or approved revenue budgets, many of which would go into earmarked reserves, and could be used to support the supplementary funding requests.

Councillor Jobson, as an opposition group leader, had submitted questions, which were tabled at the meeting and appended to the minutes.

Councillor M. Mitchell, as an opposition group leader, spoke on this item and enquired to what extent was this a typical or non-typical financial year for the Council?

In response to the question, the Deputy Chief Finance Officer advised that it had been a difficult year financially and would like to say it was exceptional, but unfortunately there were likely to be continued funding pressures for 2023/24 such as the pay award. However, any issues arising would be reported to Members as part of the quarterly monitoring reports.